Draft-gear.



H.. F. POPE.

DRAFT GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED ABLQ, 1907.

Patented May 20; 1913.

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IHVENTOR au www' Patented. May 20, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR H. F. POPE.

DRAFT GEAR.

APPLIQATION FILED APRA, 1907* H. F. POPE.

DRAFT GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED APRA, 1907.

`Patented May 20, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

H. F. POPE.

DRAFT GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED Amm, 1907.

patented May 20, 1913.

BBHEBTS-SHEET4.

INVENTOR I 1 1 I 1 1 1 l n J H. P. POPE.

DRAFT GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED Amm, 1907.

Patented May 20, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

|NvEN-ron WITNESS/ES H. F. POPE.

DRAFT GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, 19o?.

Patented May 20, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SEEET 6.

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l l l 'maw INVENToR H. F. POPE.

DRAFT GEAR.

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INVENTOR wlTNEssEs H. I'. POPE.

DRAFT GEAR. APPLICATION FILED APR.9, 1907.

Patented May 20, 1913.

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l INVENTOR s E S s E N W W f sTn'rEsf PATENT OFFICE a l HnNnY F. roya; 'or cLEvnLm, omo, nssIeNcn rre 'rmi NATIONAL'IALLEABLE c As'rINes commun, or cLnvnLnNn, omo, A ccnronnrron 'er omo.

' of Cleveland, in thel county ef. Cuyahoga,

State of Ohio, have invented a new and. useful Draft-Gear, of which the following is a f full, clear, andexact description, reference .being had. to the accompanying.drawings, foliilng part of. this specification, in. W 1

Figure 1 shows horizontal `sectien a draft gear constructed in accordance withmy invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudi-l nal section on the line'II-II -of Figyl; Fig. 3 is an end` elevation of the coupler pocket shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a vertical section onthe line .IV- IV of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line V-V of Fig. 2. lThe figures on the second sheet of the drawings show a modification, Fig. 6 a fhorlzontal section Fig. 47 a vertical longltudinal section on the line- VII-#VII of Fig. 6 ;vand Fig. 8 a vertical cross-section on thelinel VIII-VIII of Fig. 7. Figs. 9 and 10- o-n the-third sheet of the drawings show another modification, being respectively a longitudinalhorizontal section and a longitudinal vertical section of the ldnaftgear.. The figures on Sheet 4 of the drawing a horizontal section, Fig.12 a vertical .section o n the line XIL-XII Vof Fig. 11, and Fig. 13 a vertical cross-section on the ings show another-modification, Fig. llbeline XIII-XIII of 12. The figures on the fifth sheet of the-drawings show further modifications, Fig. 14 beings. fplan view oftwo couplers which are stopped and l connected, so asto provide against buckling in accordance with my invention; and Fig. 15 is a plan view showing a modifiedcon'- struction of stops. Fig. `16 is a sectional plan view showing another modification; Fig. 17 is a side elevation partly insection; and Figsf 18 and 19 are views similar to Figs. l6 and 7 showing another modification. Fig. .20 is a plan -view showing the guiding connectionwith the truck. Fig. 21 is a plan view showing a modified construction of the device.

My invention relates to the' radially swinging draft gear, which is described and claimed inthe patent to -H. T. Krakau, Reissue N o. 12,178, -dated December 1, 1903,

specification of Letters Patent. 'Application led A111119, 19.07. Seria-l No. 867,170.

' num-Gam in whicha railwa draft gear pivota ly. mounted at its .rear end at or near the bolster of the-car, adapted to swing radially on said pivot andhav car-isl'prcvided withl a Patented May 20,1913.-

guiding connections. withthe truck.

construction is Yof great advantage, .as stated in the said patent, but I havev invented an important improvement, 'which maintains approximate' alinement ofthe draft-gears and prevents liability. of buckling-cr yJackknii-ng which would subject the parts to straln when' two cars provided with such draft-gear are' coupled together and subjected to buiiing-or ushing stresses. This function vis vetlecte Without interfering with free radial motion of the draft gears. The device which I have rovided for this purpose is very 'simfle Aan may be .applied in various forms wit in the principle of the invention. It consists in providing the couplers of the opposing radially movabledr-aft gears with stops applied" to the coupler heads or coupler Shanks in such springs and when opposed to each other will .engage 'and eHvectually preventthe couplers4 'from buckling laterally. For this purpose against the -force of the draft-spring; 'and while my broader claims are not limited to the independent motion, I intend in other claims to make specific claim thereto. By

thus having the stop device act upon the main draft spring, the construction is very much simplified'and rendered compact, so that it can be applied without difficulty or complication to freight cars of ordinary construction as well as to passenger cars.

Referring now tothe drawings in which I Ishow the preferable forms .of my invention, 2 is thecoupler-head having a shank 3.

manner that .they will partake of the longitudinal movement of the couplers against .the draftv Around thisy shank is ,a coupler ocket v4, having wings 5, 5, which project orwardly at the sides of the coupler head and/constitute the stops above mentioned. This pocket is provided with a vertical pln 6, which passes throu h a longitudinal slot 7, in the coupler-shan and the rear of the pocket extends between the sides of the frame 16 and abuts against the forward spring follower 9 of the draft-rigging. The spring 10 is interposed between the front follower 9 and the rear follower 11, and the couplerhead is connected with the rear follower by a` yoke 12 which extends forwardly therefrom and is fastened by bolts 13 to the liner block 14 of the pocket. A spring or springs 15 is interposed between the rear end o the coupler shank and awall or stop 15 at lso the back of the coupler pocket 4. The coupler pocket and other parts of the draftrigging are mounted within a frame 16, the rear shank l-6' of which extends back to a point as near as convenient to the center of the bolster and is there pivoted by a vertical pivot pin 17, which permits to the draft-gear the necessary radial motion in a horizontal plane. The frame 16 has preferably a removable base-plate 26 (Fig. 8) having supporting pieces 27 which support the followers and thus center the draft-rigging within the frame.

` The front end of the coupler 2 projects forward slightly beyond the endof the stops 5, so that the coupler will couple freely with the coupler of an adjacent car. en such coupling is effected and the car, is subjected to'a pushing or bung force, the first effect is to move back the coupling-head 2 within 'the pocket 4 against the sprmg 15 to the slight extent which is permitted by the.

slot 7; and eventually the stops 5 at the outer sides of the coupler engage the corre# sponding stops of the opposite car.v When this engagement is effected', bung stress applied to the stops will be transmitted thereby directly to the draft-springs 10, together with the bufiing stress which is applied to the coupler itself. It is clear that when the stops 5 are thus engaged with the corresponding stops of another car, the draft gears of both cars will be held and prevented from lateral buckling or jack-knifing, because the stops are laterally attached to the coupler or coupling-shank and constitute a substantial part of the draft-gear, being compelled to move with and against -the pressure of the draft-spring 10. This action is enhanced by the coupler being prevented from drawing out of the pocket by reason ofthe pin 6, except to the slight extent permitted by the slot 7, the ends of the stops 5 being held closely against each other.

The base-plate 26 is provided with a pivot 21 for attachment 'to the guiding rods or connections which extend therefrom to the truck as described in the patent to Krakau i ,above mentioned'. This guiding connection is shown in Fig. 20.

35 is the truck-bolster, and 36 are telescopically constructed links which extend preferably from the pivot 21 or other part of the coupler-shank to the truck-bolster, and are provided with intermediate springs 87.

In the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the construction is the same in principle as that shown in the foregoing figures, but the pocket 4 is of considerably greater crosssection than the shank of the coupler, so as to admit an ordinary coupler-shank with its yoke 12, and the yoke is attached to the coupler shank itself. instead of the pin 6 and slot 7, I show in Figs. 6 and 7 horizontal cross-keys 18', which pass between stops 19, 20on the shank of the coupler and have a slight lateral play so as to permit a small independent motion of the coupler-shank relatively to the pocket as explained above. These keys 18 extendthrough holes in the sides of the pocket as shown in Fig. 6. The rear end of the coupler shank abuts against the inner coils 10 of the draft springs, which for this purpose extend through the follower and against the rear end of the coupler shank` thus affording a small loose motion like that which is afforded by the spring 15 and slot 7 shown in Fig. 1. In Figs. 6 and 7 I also show the coupler provided above and below with guides 33 and 34. The upper guide 33 extends across. the top of the coupler shank and back of the horn of the coupler, and the lower guide 34 extends below the coupler shank, both guides being attached to the coupler-pocket. These guides hold the coupler in proper place in the pocket.

In the modification shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the coupler pocket is of the same general form as that shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and the coupler shank is connected thereto in like manner by keys 18, but instead of using the inner coil of the draft spring for the purpose of permitting the independent motion of the coupler-shank, as in Fig. 6, I employ a supplemental spring 22, which is preferably applied at the back of the coupler-yoke and bears against the stop 23 on the frame of the swinging draft-gear'.

In the modification shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the spring mechanism is substantially the same as the sprlng mechanism 10, 1"

faces afforded at the outer sides of the cou' pler prevfnt the draft gears from buckling or jack-knitng, and the stops 5in bufiing operate againstthe draft springs in .the same manner as above described. A

Fig. 14 I show a simple adaptation of my mventionto radial draft-gearsin which the couplers of opposed cars are connected with` stop-devices composed of links 28, which are secured to lugs yon t-he outer sides of the coupler-heads, and when the cars are coupled are attached so as to connect the adjacent couplers together. When the, links are thus applied they tie the couplers rigidly together and prevent the draft-gears from buckling.

In'Fig. 15 I show another construction in which the coupler-head `is provided with laterally projecting stops 29, adapted to engage corresponding stops on the coupler of an adjacent car or to engage the stops 5 shown in Fig. 1, When these stops of two adjacent couplers are in engagement, it is clear that the draft-gears cannotvjack-knife or buckle. The stops 29 are so `formed as to permit 'the coupler to operate with the ordinary couplersnow in common use when there happens to be considerable angling of the couplers in relation to each other. In these Figs. 14 and 15 the stops are attached to the coupler directly instead of forming part of the `coupler pocket in which the coupler is mounted. In these figures parts slmilar to those of Fig. 6 are designated by similar numerals withthe letter a applied.

In Figs. 16 and 17 I show'a construction wherein the coupler pocket is made of greater width, and the coupler-head is provided with lateral projections 30 which are adapted to engage the pocket and to form additional buiing surfaces.

In Figs.` 18 and 19 I show a construction like that of Figs. Gand 7, but a bracket 31 is bolted to the top webs of the wings or stops 5. These give additional butling surface, and constitute a support for the platform 32 adapting the device to be used on passenger cars.

- The `stop device by which the draft-gears are maintainedA in approximate alinemcnt should `form parts of the draft-gear and "should extend beyond the ordinary limits of the coupler-head.

My claims-V are not limited to these stops fo-rinof a coupler-pocket, since they may be otherwise constituted, and they may be placed above or below the coupler and form a continuous buffer face, instead of being placed at its sides, or they may be both at the sidesan'd top of the coupler. The parts may be otherwise modified in various ways. Thus in Fig. 2l I show a construction in which the draft-rigging A is set within the space between the draft-irons B and is provided with a yoke C and followers D, D. The front follower is preferably concave at responding stops when made in the its forward side to' fit against the rear curved end of the coupler-pocket E which is connected by a vertical pin F to the arms of the yoke.

forward end a socket adapted to receive the This coupler-pocket has at itsV shank 3 of-the coupler 2, which coupler is l backed by a spring Gr, and is connected to the socket by a vertical pin H passing through a longitudinal slot which project forwardly at the side of the couplerhead andjconstitute a stop device for engaginO similar stops on an adjacent car.

J are the guiding connect-ions to the truck which are pivotally connected to the pocket.

When the 'coupler is engaged withthe coupler of anv adjoining car,`and is subjected to bufling stress, it is moved back within the pocket against t-he spring G to the slight extent provided by the slot through which the pm the outer side of the coupler engage the corof the other car. When this engagement is effected, butiing stress applied to the stops orto the coupler, will be transmitted directly to the draft-spring, and the entire device gears in approximate alinement, which -is desired. y

I do not claim herein what is claimed in' my application for .patent for draft gear Serial No. 367,168 filed May 17, 1906.

Within the scope of my invention as above explained and as defined in the claims, those skilled in the art will be able to apply it in many other ways, and draft-springsfriction devices, &c. of other kinds may be used in connection' with it, since What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: j 1. A draft member mounted to swing radially, and having a coupler and stop device adapted to maintain approximate alinement of adjacent draft members under buiing stress, said coupler being mounted to have some rearward longitudinal motion, independent of the stop device.

in the shank.- The coupler-pocket has wings I H passes, and eventually the stops I at will preserve the draft- I 2. A draft member mounted to swing i radially and having a coupler and guiding connections to the car truckandstops situate beyond the outer sides of the coupler head', forming part of the draft member and moving longitudinally with the draft rigging and adapted to prevent buckling of adjacent draft members under butfing stress and reinforcingthe action of the guiding connections, said stops being connected to the draft rigging and adapted to move with the 'draft sprm g.

3. A draft member" mounted to swing radially and having a coupler, and stops situate beyond the outer sides of the coupler-head, forming part of the draft-memr ber and moving longitudinally with t-he draft rigging and vadapted to prevent buckling of adjacent draft-members under buff- 4. A draft member 'mounted swing 'i radially, and having a coupler, stops situate beyond the outer sides of the coupler-head, forming part of thedraft member and movlng longitudinally with the draft-rigging and adapted to prevent buckling of adjacent draft members under buiiing stress, said stops being attachedto the draft rigging proper, and adapted to move with the draft sp1-lng, and permitting a slight independent longitudinal mot-ion of the coupler, and' a second spring which cushions the initial independent movement of the coupler.

5. A draft member4 mounted to swing radially and having a coupler with a swinging knuckle, and a coupler pocket backed by the draft spring and embracing thecoupler with its forward end in position to engage a corresponding device on another car when the couplers are coupled and buing stress is applied thereto.

6. A draft member mounted to swing radially and having a coupler with a swing- -ing knuckle, and a coupler pocket backed by the draft spring and adapted to engage a similar device on another car, said pocket permitting a slight independent longitudinal motion of the coupler.

7. A draft member mounted to swing radially and having a coupler with a swinging knuckle, anda coupler pocket backed by the draft spring and adapted to. engage a similar device on another car, and a second spring which cushions the initial movement of the coupler.

8. A draft member mounted .to swing radially and having a coupler .with a swinging knuckle, and a coupler pocket adapted to engage a similar device on another car.

9. A draft member mounted to swing 'radially and having a coupler with aswinging knuckle, and a coupler pocket abutting against the front follower of the draft riggmg, and'adapted to engage a similar coupler pocket on another car. A

10. The combination of a radially swinging coupler pocket and a coupler mounted therein, thepocket having wings at its front end which project forwardly at the side of the,couplerhead to form stops for engagement with similar devices on the pocket of an adjacent car.

1.1. A coupler pocket and a coupler mounted in the pocket and connected thereto so as -therein,

lend which project forwardly at the sides of the coupler head to form stops for engagement withv similar devices on the pocket of an adjacent car. 12. A radially swinging coupler, a stop device to preserve alinement with an adjacent coupler, and spring mechanism between the coupler and stop device.

13. The combination of a radially swinging coupler-pocket, a coupler therein, the head of the coupler being inclosed by the pocket, and a draft-spring situated back of the pocket.

14:. The combination of a radially swinging coupler-pocket, a coupler therein, the head of the coupler being inclosed by the pocket, a spring backing the coupler in the pocket, and a draft-spring back of the pocket.

. 15. A draft gear having a radially swinging coupler-pocket with a coupler mounted the head of the coupler being inclosed by the pocket, stops rigidly connected with the coupler-pocket and situated beyondthe outer sides thereof, spring mecha- 'nism back of the pocket, and guiding connections between the pocketand car-truck.

16. A draft member mounted to swing radially and lhaving -a coupler and guiding connections to the car truck, and stops situate beyond the outer sides of the coupler head, forming part of the draft member and moving longitudinally with the draft rigging, said stops being connected to move simultaneously without any longitudinal movement independently of each other, to prevent buckling of adjacent draft members under buiiing stress, and reinforcing the action of the guiding connections, said stops being connected to the draft. rigging and adapted to move with the draft spring; substantially as described.

17. The combination of a radially swinging coupler pocket and a coupler mounted thereon, the pocket having Wings at its front end which project forwardly at the side ofthe 'coupler head to form stopsrfor engagement with similar devices on the pocket of an adjacent car, said stops being HENRY F. POPE.

Witnesses:

CHAs. E. Porn,

. HARRY E. ORR. 

